Loss of Gravity and Other Terrible Things: How Does the Human Body Act in Space?

You’ve probably been told many, many times that everything in the cosmos is connected. As John Muir so eloquently put it, “When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.” But what does this mean, exactly? Today, I want to explore this statement by looking at how we are connected to our planet.

We obviously need the Earth for food, water, air, and all the other basic necessities, but what I really want to do is explore how we rely on this planet in ways that, perhaps, we’ve never even considered. And to me, it seems that the best way to explore our connectedness to the planet is to leave it behind…and take a short trip into space.

Going to space can be awesome, but it can also be terrible. Find out why at:
http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/how-does-the-human-body-act-in-space/

Image source:
Daniel and Daniels

"Seeing" Cosmic Rays

You"ve probably heard of "cosmic rays" before - it"s a term that is thrown about regularly in modern astrophysics and cosmology - but do you know what they really are?

Cosmic rays are high-energy particles with intrinsic mass. They can come from outside the solar system or from extreme solar events (like solar flares). Cosmic rays range from atomic nuclei that have had all of their surrounding electrons stripped away to more exotic particles that make up the standard model. Photons used to be considered cosmic rays; however, they are quanta of electromagnetic radiation that have no intrinsic mass; photons are known by their common names, such as "gamma rays" or "X-rays."

The origin of cosmic rays is unknown, but they are suspected to be born from supernovae, possibly from outside our galaxy. The highest energies produced by cosmic rays have been found to be 40 million times that of those produced in the Large Hadron Collider, but most don"t reach this extreme. Fortunately, our atmosphere protects us from the main front of this strange phenomenon, but out in space where there is no protection, cosmic rays damage equipment--such as microelectronics. However, contrary to popular sci-fi movies, they don"t cause the development of superhuman abilities (The Fantastic Four, anyone?). Studies have tried to detect these particles in a number of experiments, but it has proven difficult for ground-based equipment. They are most easily detected as primary rays in space or the upper atmosphere, and our most effective way of picking up these elusive particles hasn"t been with fancy equipment, but actually through our own eyes!

To learn more about cosmic rays, see:
http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/seeing-cosmic-rays/

Image source:
http://www.aspera-eu.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=290&Itemid=196

Life Beyond Earth: A Day on a Neutron Star:

Let’s talk about what it would be like to spend a day on a neutron star. I know that this might not seem like the best vacation spot; after all, neutron stars are rather small. However, these objects are remarkable, and also terribly bizarre (imagine our Sun being compressed to the size of Chicago, and you begin to understand just how remarkably bizarre neutron stars are). Even though they are tiny, typically only about 25 km (15 mi) in diameter, neutron stars are more massive than our sun.

And of course, a small diameter + a high mass = super high density.

In fact, aside from black holes, neutron stars are the densest objects in the universe. An average neutron star will have a density around 5 x 1017 kg/m3 (which is roughly the equivalent of all of humanity being squashed into a single sugar cube). But unfortunately, your vacation to this remarkably bizarre object will be a bit short. You see, most neutron stars rotate rather fast. Excessively fast, in fact. A typical neutron star rotates about 40,000 times a minute; since a “day” is determined by how long it takes an object to complete one rotation, a day on a neutron star whizzes by in just a fraction of a second.

So only plan on spending a day on a neutron star if you have super great time management skills; by the time you landed, you"d have to leave as your day would be over.

Another remarkably bizarre part of a neutron star is the crust. Although it’s not very thick, generally about 1km or .6miles, the crust is approximately 100 billion times stronger than steel. So you shouldn’t go to a neutron star if you hope to spend your day building fantastical sandcastles—the crust of the star is simply too strong for you to break through with your tiny ineffectual shovel. Alas, neutronstar-castles will never be a thing.

To learn more about neutron stars, and what a day on one would be like, see:
http://www.fromquarkstoquasars.com/life-beyond-earth-a-day-on-a-neutron-star/

Image source:
http://startswithabang.com/?p=1014